Latch for movable grill

ABSTRACT

A grill includes a base structure, a first platen assembly connected to the base structure, and a second platen assembly connected to the base structure. At least the second platen assembly is movable between a first position and a second position. A latch mechanism is operable to selectively retain the upper platen assembly in the second position. The latch mechanism includes a first portion and a second portion. The second portion further comprises a retaining ring movable to receive and cooperate with the first portion when the first portion and the second portion of the latch mechanism are misaligned.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present patent application claims priority as a United Statesdivisional application of United States Patent Application No.16/151,537, filed on Oct. 4, 2018, which claims the benefit of thefiling date under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of Provisional U.S. PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/569,906, filed Oct. 9, 2017, the entirety ofwhich are each hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to a grill, and moreparticularly to a grill having a movable lower grill plate having alatch to secure and upper plate and movable grease receptacles.

Grills or griddles are used to cook various foods, such as hamburgersfor example. In some conventional grills, the sides of the food aregrilled sequentially. The food is placed on a grilling surface, thusgrilling the side of the food that contacts the grilling surface. Afterthat side of the food is cooked, the food is manually flipped to cookthe opposite side. After both sides of the food are cooked, the food ismanually removed from the grill for serving.

Other conventional grills, such as clamshell grills for example, arecapable of simultaneously cooking two sides of various food items, suchas hamburger patties, sausage patties, chicken, or other foods. Inparticular, clamshell grills are often used in commercialestablishments, such as fast-food restaurants for example, because theyreduce overall cooking time and the amount of operator attentionrequired for cooking.

A conventional clamshell grill generally includes an upper platenassembly movably connected to a lower platen assembly. For example, theupper platen assembly may be pivotally coupled to the lower platenassembly for movement between a lower cooking position overlying thelower platen assembly and a raised position inclined upwardly from thelower platen assembly. When the upper platen assembly is in the loweredcooking position, a gap is created between the upper and lower platenassemblies. This gap is generally adjustable according to the thicknessof the food being cooked. For example, hamburger patties are pre-formedin several different sizes (i.e. a quarter pound patty has a greaterthickness than a regular patty). To cook the food, an operator selectsthe gap size and a cooking time via an operator interface for the fooditem being cooked.

Conventional clamshell grills typically include a latch mechanism forretaining the upper platen assembly in a lowered position to maintain acompressive force applied to food being cooked. Existing latchmechanisms require the movable and fixed portions of the latch mechanismto be aligned within a tight tolerance. However, frequent calibration ofthe platen assemblies, and in some instances movement of the lowerplaten assembly during operation of the grill, result in misalignment ofthe corresponding portions of the latch mechanism.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

According to an embodiment, a grill includes a base structure, a firstplaten assembly connected to the base structure, and a second platenassembly connected to the base structure. At least the second platenassembly is movable between a first position and a second position. Alatch mechanism is operable to selectively retain the upper platenassembly in the second position. The latch mechanism includes a firstportion and a second portion. The second portion further comprises aretaining ring movable to receive and cooperate with the first portionwhen the first portion and the second portion of the latch mechanism aremisaligned.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as analternative, in further embodiments when the first portion and thesecond portion are misaligned, contact between the first portion and theretaining ring causes the retaining ring to move into alignment with thefirst portion.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as analternative, in further embodiments when the first portion and thesecond portion are aligned, the retaining ring does not move within thesecond portion.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as analternative, in further embodiments the second platen assembly furthercomprises an arm, and the second portion of the latch mechanism iscoupled to the arm.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as analternative, in further embodiments the second portion further comprisesa cap coupled to a free end of the arm, where the retaining ring is indirect contact with the free end of the arm and a surface of the cap.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as analternative, in further embodiments each of the retaining ring and thecap has an opening formed therein for receiving the first portion of thelatch mechanism.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as analternative, in further embodiments the retaining ring is movable withina plane relative to the cap and the free end of the arm.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as analternative, in further embodiments the plane has a substantiallyhorizontal orientation.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as analternative, in further embodiments an inner diameter of the cap isgreater than an outer diameter of the retaining ring such that aclearance is defined there between.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as analternative, in further embodiments the retaining ring is formed fromstainless steel.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as analternative, in further embodiments a material of the retaining ring hasbeen hardened via a material treatment process.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as analternative, in further embodiments the first portion of the latchmechanism further comprises a base having a resilient detent, and aninner surface of the retaining ring is configured to cooperate with thedetent to restrict movement of the second portion relative to the firstportion.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as analternative, in further embodiments the retaining ring is symmetricalabout a central plane extending through the retaining ring.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as analternative, in further embodiments the first portion of the latchmechanism is integrally formed with the base structure.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as analternative, in further embodiments the latch mechanism is configured toselectively couple the second platen assembly to the base structureadjacent a front of the grill.

According to another embodiment, a grill includes a base structure, alower platen assembly connected to the base structure and including alower grilling plate, and an upper platen assembly movably connected tothe base structure such that the upper platen assembly is movablebetween a raised position and a lowered position. The upper platenassembly includes an upper grilling plate. A latch mechanism includes alower portion and an upper portion configured to cooperate with thelower portion to selectively retain the upper platen assembly in thelowered position. The upper portion further comprises a retaining ringmovable to receive and cooperate with the lower portion when the upperportion and the lower portion are misaligned.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as analternative, in further embodiments when the lower portion and the upperportion are misaligned, contact between the lower portion and theretaining ring causes the retaining ring to move into alignment with thelower portion.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as analternative, in further embodiments the upper platen assembly furthercomprises an arm, and the upper portion of the latch mechanism iscoupled to the arm.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as analternative, in further embodiments the retaining ring is movable withina horizontal plane relative to a free end of the arm.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as analternative, in further embodiments the lower portion of the latchmechanism further comprises a base having a resilient detent, and aninner surface of the retaining ring is configured to cooperate with thedetent to restrict movement of the upper portion relative to the lowerportion.

These and other advantages and features will become more apparent fromthe following description taken in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter, which is regarded as the disclosure, is particularlypointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion ofthe specification. The foregoing and other features, and advantages ofthe disclosure are apparent from the following detailed descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a grill in a lowered position accordingto an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a grill according to anembodiment;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a portion of a latch assembly according toan embodiment; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a latch assembly according to anembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the FIGS., a grill 20 is illustrated having a rigidbase structure 22 supporting a lower platen assembly 24 and an upperplaten assembly 26. The upper platen assembly 26 may be fixed relativeto the base structure 22 or alternatively, may be movably attached tothe base structure 22 with a mounting structure 28 such that the upperplaten assembly 26 is configured to move between a lowered, cookingposition and an upper raised position relative to the lower platenassembly 24. In one embodiment, the mounting structure 28 is a hingesuch that the upper platen assembly 26 is configured to pivot relativeto the lower platen assembly 24; however, in other embodiments, theupper platen assembly 26 may be vertically lowered and raised in agenerally linear motion. The upper platen assembly 26 may be movedbetween the raised and lowered positions either automatically ormanually. In embodiments where the upper platen assembly 26 is movedmanually, the upper platen assembly 26 may include a handle 30 that canbe grabbed by an operator to move the upper platen assembly 26 betweenthe raised and lowered positions. When the upper platen assembly 26 islifted by an operator to the raised position, the grilling surface ofthe lower platen assembly 24 is exposed.

The lower platen assembly 24 includes a lower grilling plate 32 and theupper platen assembly 26 includes an upper grilling plate 34. Food itemsare placed on an exposed grilling surface 33 of the lower grilling plate32 by the operator for cooking. The operator moves the upper platenassembly 26, such as via handle 30 for example, to the lowered positionsuch that the one or more food items to be cooked are positioned withina gap 36 formed between the upper and lower grilling plates 32, 34.

The lower grilling plate 32 is configured to provide heat to the lowerside of one or more food items placed thereon and the upper grillingplate 34 is configured to provide heat to an upper side of the fooditems located on the lower grilling plate 32. The upper and lowergrilling plates 32, 34 are heated by a heater (not shown) to cook thefood items. In order to transmit heat to the food items cooked by thegrill, the lower and upper grilling plates 32, 34, respectively, may beformed of a heat-conducting material, such as cast aluminum,abrasion-resistant steel, cast iron, stainless steel, mild steel, aceramic material, or other suitable heat conducting materials used ingrills. Although the lower and upper grilling plates 32, 34 are shown ashaving a rectangular shape, one or both of the grilling plates 32, 34may also be formed into other shapes, such as circular or oval shapesfor example. As illustrated in FIG. 1 , a plurality of individual grills20 may be arranged adjacent one another to form a grill assembly, In oneembodiment, a portion of each grill 20, such as the base structure 22for example, is integrally formed.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the lower platen assembly 24 includes a pluralityof leveling mechanisms 50 for controlling the tilt, angle, and/orattitude of the lower grilling plate 32. Although two levelingmechanisms 50 are illustrated in the FIGS., embodiments having three, oralternatively, any number of leveling mechanisms 50 are within the scopeof the disclosure. A portion of each leveling mechanism 50 is connectedto the base structure 22, such as with a mounting bracket (not shown)for example, and a first end 52 of each leveling mechanism 50 isconnected to the lower grilling plate 32. The first ends 52 may bepositioned about a peripheral region of the lower grilling plate 32. Itis to be understood that the first end 52 of the leveling mechanisms 50do not need to be positioned at an edge of the lower grilling plate 32.Rather, a person having ordinary skill in the art would understand thatthe peripheral region encompasses the portion of the lower grillingplate 32 that allows suitable control of the position of the lowergrilling plate 32 by the extension or retraction of the levelingmechanisms 50.

A control 60 is configured to independently operate each of theplurality of leveling mechanisms 50. As a result, the lower grillingplate 32 may be arranged in a non-horizontal configuration. In oneembodiment, the leveling mechanisms 50 are linear actuators, such ashydraulic, pneumatic, or mechanical actuators for example. One or moresensors (not shown) are configured to monitor each of the plurality ofleveling mechanisms 50 and detect when the lower grilling plate 32contacts the upper grilling plate 34. In one embodiment, the sensors areHall Effect sensors or encoders configured to monitor the position of amovable portion 54 of the leveling mechanisms 50 and determine when eachleveling mechanism 50 reaches a stall position. Alternatively, othertypes of sensors, such as sensors configured to monitor current, load,or another characteristic of the plurality of leveling mechanisms 50 forexample, is also within the scope of the disclosure. Through theleveling mechanisms 50, the position of the lower grilling plate 32and/or the initial gap between the lower and upper grilling plates 32,34, respectively, may be adjusted to accommodate the variation ofthickness of the food items to be cooked on the grill 20. Moreover, theplurality of leveling mechanisms 50 may apply a positive pressure on thelower grilling plate 32 and consequently on the food items as they arebeing cooked on the grill 20.

The grill 20 may be automatically calibrated to ensure that the gap 36between the lower grilling plate 32 and the upper grilling plate 34 ismaintained at a desired size. By calibrated, it is meant that the uppergrilling plate 34 and the lower grilling plate 32 are level to oneanother to ensure proper cooking of food items. In one example, thegrill 20 is calibrated daily to correct any unleveling of the lowergrilling plate 32 that may have occurred during the previous day.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4 , the grill 20 further includes a latchassembly 70 for selectively retaining the upper platen assembly 26 inthe lowered positioned. The latch assembly 70 includes a lower portion72 and an upper portion 74 that cooperate with one another. The lowerportion 72 includes a first component 76, such as a base for example,attached to a portion of the grill 20 generally adjacent the lowerplaten assembly 24. In the illustrated, non-limiting embodiment, thebase 76 of the latch assembly 70 is coupled to the base 22 of the grill20, between the lower platen assembly 24 and a front of the grill 20.The base 76 protrudes upwardly from a surface of the grill 20 andincludes a detent 78 positioned adjacent a distal end 80 of the base 76.The detent 78 is a resilient member movable relative to the base 76,such as within a plane arranged generally perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis of the base 76 for example. As shown, the detent 78may be a spring loaded ball that is biased outwardly. However anysuitable detent is within the scope of the disclosure.

The upper portion 74 of the latch assembly 70 further includes an arm 82extending from the upper platen assembly 26. The handle 30 for assistingan operator of the grill 20 with moving the upper platen assembly 26between a raised position and a lowered position may be coupled to orintegrally formed with a portion of the arm 82. In the illustrated,non-limiting embodiment, the handle 30 is has a generally triangularshape. However, a handle 30 having any shape is within the scope of thedisclosure.

A free end 84 of the arm 82 includes a hollow cavity 86 within which thedistal end 80 of the base 76 is receivable. In an embodiment, a flange88 extends outwardly from the exterior of the arm 82 at a positionoffset from the free end 84 of the arm 82. Alternatively, or inaddition, one or more teeth or protrusions 90 may extend outwardly fromthe surface of arm 82 at a position between the flange 88 and the freeend 84.

A cap 92 is receivable over the free end 84 of the arm 82. When coupledto the arm 82, a first end 94 of the cap 92 directly abuts the flange 88and the one or more teeth 90 engage an inner surface 96 of the cap 90 torestrict movement of the cap 92 relative to the arm 82. In otherembodiments, the cap 90 is configured to threadably connect to the arm82. However, any suitable means for connecting the cap 92 to the freeend 84 of the arm 82 is contemplated herein. A second end 98 of the cap92 is configured to align with the free end 84 of the arm 82 andincludes an opening 100 arranged in communication with the interior ofthe cavity 86. The opening 100 formed in the second end 98 of the cap 92is also sized to receive the distal end 80 of the base 76.

Positioned within a hollow interior 102 of the cap 92, directly betweenthe second end 98 of the cap 92 and the free end 84 of the arm 82 is aretaining ring 104. The retaining ring 104, cap 92, and arm 82 may allbe formed from any suitable material, including, but not limited to ametal, such as stainless steel for example. In an embodiment, one ormore material treatment processes may be applied to the retaining ring104. For example, the material of the ring 104 may be a material thatwas hardened through a heat treatment process.

The retaining ring 104 includes an opening 106 for receiving the distalend 80 of the base 76 and has a contoured inner surface or lip 108 thatcooperates with the detent 78 of the base 76. The retaining ring 104 isarranged in contact with both the free end 84 of the arm 82 and thesecond end 98 of the cap 92. As a result of this engagement, the ring104 is restricted from moving vertically toward the free end 84 of thearm 82 and/or the second end 98 of the cap 92. However, an outerdiameter of the ring 104 is smaller than an inner diameter of the cap92. Because of this clearance between the retaining ring 104 and the cap92, the ring 104 is free to translate within a substantially horizontalplane arranged generally parallel to the free end 84 of the arm 82 andthe second end 98 of the cap 92. This translation between the retainingring 104 and the cap 92 allows the base 76 and the detent 78 to bereceived within the opening 106 of the retaining ring 104 when the upperportion 74 and the lower portion 72 of the latch are not perfectlyaligned.

To operate the latch mechanism 70, the upper platen assembly 26 ispivoted towards a lowered position causing the free end 84 of the arm 82to engage and couple to the base 76 of the latch mechanism 70. In anembodiment, the contoured inner surface 108 includes a ramped surfaceconfigured to apply a force to the detent 78 that opposes a biasingforce of the detent 78 as the upper platen assembly 26 is lowered andraised relative to the lower platen assembly 24. In an embodiment, thedetent 78 may include an internal mechanism M, such as a spring forexample, configured to bias the detent 78 outwardly. In anotherembodiment, the internal mechanism M may be a contoured plunger that ismovable to adjust the magnitude of the biasing force acting on thedetent 78.

Once the upper platen assembly 26 is in the lowered position, thecompressive force applied to the detent 78 by surface 108 of theretaining ring 104 is removed, thereby allowing the detent 78 to bebiased outwardly. In this configuration, engagement between the detent78 and the inner surface 108 of the ring 104 restricts movement of thearm 84 out of engagement with the base 76. Further, the contouredsurface 108 may be symmetrical about a central plane extending throughthe ring, parallel to the free end of the arm and the second end of thecap. In such embodiments, the latch mechanism will function properlyregardless of the orientation of the ring when positioned within thecap. To decouple the portions 72, 74 of the latch mechanism 70, asufficient force is applied to the upper platen assembly 26. Thecontoured surface 108 of the retaining ring 104 opposes the biasingforce of the detent 78, thereby allowing the upper portion 74 of thelatch 70 to move relative to the lower portion 72 of the latch. Once theretaining ring 104 has moved beyond the detent 78, the biasing force ofthe detent 78 will bias the detent 78 outwardly to the neutral position.

Because the retaining ring 104 is movable within a plane relative to thecap 98, the retaining ring 104 is configured to engage the base 76 evenwhen the retaining ring 104 and the base 76 are not properly aligned.Accordingly, inclusion of a latch assembly 70 as described herein allowsthe upper platen assembly to be coupled to the base 22 with a greaterdegree of misalignment between the upper and lower portions 72, 74.Further, the latch assembly 70 may be retrofit into existing grills 20to improve the operational efficiency of such grills.

While the disclosure has been described in detail in connection withonly a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understoodthat the disclosure is not limited to such disclosed embodiments.Rather, the disclosure can be modified to incorporate any number ofvariations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements notheretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit andscope of the disclosure. Additionally, while various embodiments of thedisclosure have been described, it is to be understood that aspects ofthe disclosure may include only some of the described embodiments.Accordingly, the disclosure is not to be seen as limited by theforegoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A grill comprising: a base structure; a firstplaten assembly connected to the base structure; a second platenassembly connected to the base structure, wherein at least the secondplaten assembly is movable between a first position and a secondposition; and a latch mechanism operable to selectively retain thesecond platen assembly in the second position, the latch mechanismincluding a first portion and a second portion, wherein the secondportion further comprises a retaining ring movable to receive andcooperate with the first portion when the first portion and the secondportion of the latch mechanism are misaligned.
 2. The grill according toclaim 1, wherein when the first portion and the second portion aremisaligned, contact between the first portion and the retaining ringcauses the retaining ring to move into alignment with the first portion.3. The grill according to claim 1, wherein when the first portion andthe second portion are aligned, the retaining ring does not move withinthe second portion.
 4. The grill according to claim 1, wherein thesecond platen assembly further comprises an arm, and the second portionof the latch mechanism is coupled to the arm.
 5. The grill according toclaim 4, wherein the second portion further comprises a cap coupled to afree end of the arm, where the retaining ring is in direct contact withthe free end of the arm and a surface of the cap.
 6. The grill accordingto claim 5, wherein each of the retaining ring and the cap has anopening formed therein for receiving the first portion of the latchmechanism.
 7. The grill according to claim 5, wherein the retaining ringis movable within a plane relative to the cap and the free end of thearm.
 8. The grill according to claim 7, wherein the plane has asubstantially horizontal orientation.
 9. The grill according to claim 5,wherein an inner diameter of the cap is greater than an outer diameterof the retaining ring such that a clearance is defined there between.10. The grill of claim 4, wherein the upper portion further comprises acap that coupled to a free end of the arm, wherein the arm has a flangeand an end of the cap abuts the flange.
 11. The grill of claim 10,wherein one or more teeth extend outwardly from a surface of the arm,and wherein an inner surface of the cap engage the one or more teeth.12. The grill of claim 10, wherein the cap threadably connects to thearm.
 13. The grill of claim 10, wherein an end of the cap aligns with afree end of the arm.
 14. The grill of claim 10, wherein the retainingring is supported by the cap.
 15. The grill of claim 14, wherein theretaining ring is constrained by the cap and the arm such that theretaining ring is restricted from vertically within the cap, but is freeto translate within a substantially horizontal plate generally parallelto the free end of the arm.
 16. The grill according to claim 1, whereinthe retaining ring is formed from stainless steel.
 17. The grillaccording to claim 1, wherein a material of the retaining ring has beenhardened via a material treatment process.
 18. The grill according toclaim 1, wherein the first portion of the latch mechanism furthercomprises a base having a resilient detent, and an inner surface of theretaining ring is configured to cooperate with the detent to restrictmovement of the second portion relative to the first portion.
 19. Thegrill according to claim 1, wherein the retaining ring is symmetricalabout a central plane extending through the retaining ring.
 20. Thegrill according to claim 1, wherein the first portion of the latchmechanism is integrally formed with the base structure.
 21. The grillaccording to claim 20, wherein the latch mechanism is configured toselectively couple the second platen assembly to the base structureadjacent a front of the grill.